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May 25, 05
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The State of The Breaks : Vancouver
I rarely frequent this site anymore, but I just came across the thread about "Bassline Breaks", and was quite surprised to see the thread turn from "does Vancouver like b-line breaks" (from a dude in the UK), to the people complaining about the lack there of, of a breakbeat scene in Van.
Priceless and my company twentyHz have been throwing breakbeat shows in Vancouver for over 5 years now. We have packed the Sonar, Lotus, Atlantis and other clubs numerous times. We have brought the cream of the crop for breaks acts, and have run 2 monthlys, and 2 weeklys. The monthlys were always with top international acts, therefore easy to sell... but the weeklies. This is a whole nother story. People are so quick to point out the lack of a scene... but fuckin hell people.... how many of you "breaks" kids can say they even put an effort into coming out week in a week out to the weekly nights. We had a weekly running all last year at the Lotus.... and though we had some top shows with Tipper, Rennie Pilgrem & Adam Freeland.... we were lucky to get 50 people a week for our residents and local guests. After Vivid got pulled by Sonar, they approched Priceless, OJ, Shakes & I to be the new residents for a new night called Break "YO!" Self. Finally a Friday night breaks night. This will be the start of something huge.... right!?... Wrong. The so called "breaks" kids never supported... and the night lasted only a few short weeks. Weak. I have decided to take a step back from the breaks scene as a promoter. Too much work for very little profit (if any). We have just launched our new label twentyHz Music, and as A&R and an artist for the label, I have very little time for much else. Would be really good to see someone step up and start making this so called "scene" better in Vancouver. I know we at twentyHz have. Seems to me the ones that complain the most are the ones that never supported anyways. Oh well... twentyHz will still throwing top shows with some of the best in intenational breaks acts, but you won't be seeing this happen weekly or even monthly. Going to take our time, and pick and choose only the acts who we know will sell. No more losing $$ on breaking new acts, cause nobody supported in the past. You want to complain and talk shit about the state of the breaks in Vancouver, then shut up and do something about it. sorry for the rant.... but somethings just have to be said. -soda 
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May 25, 05
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Yeah i see what your saying Andrew and to be honest i'm one of those people that love breaks but never got of my fucking ass to go out and support a weekly. I would go out to see the occasional headliner here and there but never a weekly. Yet now i find myself going out to Automatic Tuesdays almost every week. I don't know what it is but maybe the dnb scene just seems more welcoming or something. Fuck i dunno. But i do agree that you guys have exposed Vancouver to an ass-load of breaks and the scene is healthier because of it. Big Up!
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May 25, 05
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My experience from my few years here is that people are very quick to complain about how there isn't a scene for __________ (insert whatever style), but what I don't see is very many people doing anything about it. There are certainly a number of promoters in this city who work their asses off to bring in talent in hopes of giving the masses what they are so quick to point out is lacking here, however when many of these events do start, no one supports. This is a very discouraging trend and if it continues, then there will really be a reason to complain because these shows will cease to exist in any form.
With that being said, please make an effort to support your local DJs and promoters, for they are a talented bunch. ~respect all crew~
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May 25, 05
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When I was a breakbeat supporter I came out all the time. I think the reason I stopped was because no one actually impressed me. Theres people like Lorin Bassnectar, and Nubreed, and other djs putting on some crazy shows but other then that everyone owns or has heard most of the tracks these worldclass djs play. after a while 10-40 dollars each week plus drinking, and travel costs gets a bit to pricey for me to be a supporter. I think the only people who supported these nights were djs etc. which doesnt do the night much good cuz djs dont dance.
oh and theres only a few local djs that actually impress me enough for me to pay 5-10 dollars to see and most of the time they only showed up once a month.
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May 25, 05
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I think this has been a long-standing complaint about vancouver. Unless the scene is house or top40, there is minimal support for the local DJs (many of which are just as good if not better than a lot of the bigname talent i've seen). Just a shame considering how much talent we have in this city yet few people really care...
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May 25, 05
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but compared to the top40 scene the percentage of people who listen to electronic music is minimal. The people that frequent electronic music hangouts are a minority. Also the people who go to these top40 nights aren't supporting the djs, they're hanging out with friends, co workers, picking up chicks, etc. My friends hate dance music, my co workers have never heard the term "breakbeat" and theres a total lack of goodlooking chicks IMO at electronic nights. Where am I going to go? where my friends are! I love dance music but if I don't go to an event every other week does that make me a non supporter
Last edited by matéo; May 25, 05 at 04:46 PM.
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May 25, 05
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give me the breaks, fuck the rest
i bump that shit in my car rollin thru china town with the windows rolled down
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May 25, 05
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Yeah, most people aren't into electronic music, but I believe the point of this discussion was to point out how the people that DO like breaks shouldn't be complaining about the lack of a scene.
As for the supposed lack of good looking women at these shows, I think the Vivid shows and the Get Together parties prove this to be completely false, but then again, that's a matter of opinion.
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May 25, 05
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Quote:
but much respect to the promoters who and dj's such as 20Hz & WFB who have been keeping at it for as long as they have. It just seems the genre as a whole needs and injection of new life and that's something that's got to start with the music. IMHO of course.
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May 25, 05
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valuble points being adressed!
we sure as hell dont have alot of "breakz kids" supporting. all i hear is people love breakz, but when it comes time to support, they are not where to be found! - and its not about what locals you would pay 5 bucks to see, its about keeping the scene alive plain and simple! - if we dont support it now, there will be nothing to support later! as for breakz not being interesting.....hahah aiight man, if you say so! breakz are one of the most diverse electronic genres...hands down! i for one am really stoked on breakz, and ive been assisting blaze and rori with dynamix every second fri. its been ok, but never really that bumpin! - this is usually because we are competeing with another club night, or a party! but i think its the venue aswell, although i must say......as much as everyone says they hate tribeca, i still see everyone there sometime or another! - but i do believe its time for a venue switch! so, im putting myself out there.....if anyone is interested in assisting on holding a weekly/bi-weekly breakz night with me, please leave me a pm, or hit me up on msn! i want to keep this alive, and im goin to do what i can! - dynamix will still be under me, but i would like to do a night that doesnt compete! - so anyone with an interest, and a bit of know how....... holla back!
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May 25, 05
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Quote:
Now I was the biggest fan of breaks as of.. say 6 months ago. Went to just about every headliner, even went to the weeklys once in a while (my days off were during the week) Breaks used to be 85% of what I listened to. Then, well, they got stale, I guess I was stuck in the bootleg generation and couldn't latch on to sounds like the breakfastaz. That whole trancey-over produced sound started sounding very repetitive, way more than I was ever used to anyways. So then I went to Adam F and was blown away. Drum n bass is progressing, and not one track sounds the same really anymore. Still a bit over-produced, but SO much better than the 2000-2001 crap. Anyways, breaks (besides that new track freestylers-pendulum-fasten your seatbelts (which is done by a d&b producer), is not evolving, when a sound doesn't evolve, and all the djs play the same stale tracks, even the locals, people stop coming out, as I did. Not saying d&b is different as where every d&b dj is playing the same stuff, but if you look on all the vinyl websites, they're always 25, 30, 35 new drum n bass promos each week and like 12 breaks. People are going to say, quality, not quantity, but the thing is 80% of these drum n bass promos that come out each week are actually pretty dope! Needless to say, i don't even by breaks records anymore, and it makes me sad. The records I do have I can play in 5 years and will still be hot. You know why? Because they don't sound the same as every other fucking track. Baobinga is an example of a breaks producer who is at least TRYING to evolve the music. Pretty much every track he does sounds nothing like the last one. Drum n bass is doing it, why isn't breaks? But hey, I give props to all the promoters still trying to keep the scene alive. I blame the music itself. Last edited by firestar; May 25, 05 at 05:51 PM.
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May 25, 05
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What I hate the most about the dance music scene in Vancouver is the peeps that burn out and never return. Oh you still listen to rave music? I stopped that when I stopped going to raves... Fuckin clueless if you ask me. So you listen to top 40 all day at work, in the car, or whatever. Then go out and party to it? Doesn't make sense to me. Untill somthing major happens and it explodes in Vancouver, the scene will always be about the few souls that care about this type of music and we can't support it week in and week out. I know I'm really busy and broke most of the time so it's tough. Until below average joe clubber starts liking dance music, weeklys are fucked.
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May 25, 05
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I think this happens in a lot of scenes that are still very underground... as a dj and part-time promoter, I've given up on being angry at people that don't support (although I understand the frustration). Club nights are supposed to be fun and you shouldn't have to force people to "go support." Perhaps rather than being angry at the "punters" for not going out every week, we can figure out better ways of getting more people into the music?
All-ages events are probably a good idea - I'm sure a good percentage of you guys got into electronic tunes via some rave or party and when you turned 19, it became all about going out to the clubs. It's not like a lot of these tunes are being played on the radio and it's not like most people even understand that a "DJ" can be more than just some jukebox that takes requests. I've also noticed that in many scenes, the older, burning-out headz to new kids ratio is getting smaller and smaller. Any ideas on how to get more people interested in the sound? I'm sure for every 20 top40-obessed idiot out there, there's got to be at least 2 or 3 of them who would be into things like breaks and dnb but just hasn't been properly introduced to the tunes yet (i.e. being fucked on E at some party sometime :)) Edit: Then again, yea - the people that bitch about there "not being anything good in the scene" and then never show up to support are rather annoying... Last edited by dj_soo; May 25, 05 at 06:07 PM.
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May 25, 05
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Quote:
All ages shows. Not a rave. But something like a clubnight. See, a friend of mine works with a bunch of hiphop eminem white suburban gansters. All he listens to is heavy d&b. Now, when he first introduced d&b to these cats, they hated it, because it didn't relate.. oh but wait! Next day he brought a hip-hop drum n bass mix in and all these kids went nuts. You know? I'd LOVE to introduce some of these "The beat" hiphop r&b'ers to breaks & drum n bass. I guess it's how you market to the masses of people who listen to shit music and think electronic music is shit. I have no idea how you'd do that. It digusts me to say it, but that pete tong show on the beat (ugh god I'm ready to vomit in my own hat for saying this..) is trying to break barriers. Sort of.. Right? Promoting underground music to a scene that doesn't know what underground music is? Aaaanyways....
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May 25, 05
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i agree with what is said...STOP COMPLAINING....ive been around the "scene" since 1997...the breaks didnt take off till 1999ish...as a promoter back then it was hard to get people to come out..but working with azim...aka twisted...he did the best he could to bring in the big names,,aswell as all the other big promoters...icey..baby ann...mike and charlie...tony faline...hudia huda..big legue chew ...africa bambattah even dj rectangle...but coming back into the rave and club scene..the breaks are served on a silver platter and noone goes...cheery bombs at sonar back in the day was the place to be on a friday night ..when oj..shakes etc...promoted this new friday night i was so excited i was thinking its going to be like cheery bombs again..only noone went..WTF!!
cellar on mondays wasnt always packed ither..great music!!!! gone to so many shows and not alot of people there.thanks for the great efforts tho franze..i loved it.. the break scene is there u gotta get up and go its not only there for the days you feel like going.... wanna go play its there.....look harder!!! Last edited by t-skywalker; May 25, 05 at 06:22 PM. Reason: horrible speller
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May 25, 05
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Interesting thread...
twentyHz. has always had mine and Twisted's support... This is a big part of the reason why we have partnered with them in the past and why I have booked all those boys as well. The scene across all genres is changing... BUT... with Breaks, I totally agree that the quantity and quality of production coming out lately is weak. This is the primary reason why I've gravitated towards House. The quantity of selection is huge and the qualilty of production is amazing. -- The WMC this past year really opened my eyes to it more so than it ever has been. Anyway... I totally agree with Soda on this point... locals don't support locals nor to they (typically) support the genre they claim to really like... in this case Breaks. Case and point = Kid Kenobi. Tickets for this one started at $12, then moved to $15 and were $20 at the door. It was busy but no where's near sold out. Although an up and coming producer, the dude deserves much respect for what he has done thus far overseas and for $10, why not come out!
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May 25, 05
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If it was easier (like Seattle) to throw All ages events in clubs with a roped off drinking area for the 19+, I'm sure we could pack in alot more people for every genre.
Also, making that random dude or girl that you've never seen before feel welcome, i'm sure they'll be back again and again! Just at the last Zinc show, there were a couple "hardcore" Junglist biatches who were treating my friend like she didn't belong, and me like i didn't know shit. I just laughed and walked away.
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